This Time
by hook617
Summary: Post 3x22. After all of the pain Regina has been feeling over losing Robin, she decides to take matters into her own hands. Outlaw Queen, Captain Swan.


**A/N: A variety of different ships in this one!**

**Relationships: Outlaw Queen, Captain Swan**

**Friendships: Hooked Queen, Snow Queen**

**This is my first one where the focus is on Regina, but I had to throw Hook & Emma in there because I just can't stop myself. Hope you like it!**

* * *

_It's not the way it use to be right now_

_You come so far to just let this go my friend, don't go out_

_The same way you did the last time _

_You'll break when you fall_

_Don't make the same mistakes you did all over _

_You've got to believe in yourself this time_

~ **Three Doors Down** ~

* * *

Regina swirled the last ingredient into the vial and the potion was now complete. As she tucked it in her pocket, she had one more task to complete before the potion could be administered, and then her pain would be over. All she needed to do now was to find Emma.

It had been a week since Maid Marion came back into Robin's life, and since then Regina's heart felt like it was constantly ripped from her chest. It was worse than Daniel. With him, she felt the sting of losing her first love, a sting that rotted her very core. Her love with Robin had been a healing balm, creating something within her that she never thought she could feel again. She once again felt like the young girl, riding across the meadow on her prized horse towards her love. Now, even though Robin contacted her once or twice, all he talked about was how Roland was reconnecting with his mother. Another pang filled Regina's chest. She already loved that boy like a second son, loving to enjoy those moments of the stage he was in.

_"Regina- that's the biggest ice cream cone I ever saw-ed!"_

_"Look, Regina! That cloud looks like a bird!"_

_"Okay, I'm the prince, and you're the princess. I have to come rescue you!"_

Regina swallowed the lump in her throat as she pocketed the vial before exiting her vault. She could do this. She's handled far worse confrontations than this, handling them all like the evil regal that she was. As she stepped into the sunlight, it was time to find Emma. Clinching the vial in her coat pocket with one hand, she pulled out cell phone with the other and began to search for Emma's cell number.

"I never understood those bloody things," a voice came from her left. She closed her eyes and sighed as she put her cell phone away. "Of course, it seems almost required to have one in this realm."

"What do you want, Hook," Regina sighed, not looking at him as she stuffed her hands tight within her pockets.

"Just a friendly chat, your majesty," Hook said, pushing himself off the tree he was leaning against and approached her. "We are friends after all."

"Are we," Regina said through her teeth. "When did that start?"

"I can't seem to recall, but we're all on the same side now, aren't we," he said, flashing a signature grin. "Defeating Pan and the Wicked Witch together, feels nice to win a few, aye?"

"It seems the winning streak is over," Regina said, trying to push past him. He snagged her arm with his hook and spun her back around. "What?!"

"Don't think I don't know what you were doing down there," Hook said sternly. "I recognized that look in your eye that you've had all week. Take it from me, your majesty- it's not worth it."

"And just what exactly am I doing," she asked, feigning innocence. Hook's grip on her softened, removing his hook and putting his hand on her like the touch of a reassuring friend.

"You and I know how empty revenge is. We've felt the hole in our hearts, and it's worse than what you're feeling now. Taking your anger out on Emma is not going to solve your problems," he said.

"Ah, so this isn't about me. It's a desperate plea to save your girlfriend?" Hook's jaw clenched a little, and that was all she needed. "So this isn't about consoling a friend, it's about saving you selfishly your girlfriend."

"I assure you, Emma is quite capable of handling herself. And how is it selfish to try to protect her and protect you from yourself? Or saving the boy from any more heartbreak?"

"DON'T bring Henry into this," Regina threatened as she poked his chest. "You know nothing about him other than he's the biological son of your schoolboy crush."

"I know he's a lad that even though he was raised in a world without magic, he's been through more challenges than any of us went through when we were his age and has become a stronger and brilliant young man with every challenge," Hook said. Regina could tell in an instant that he actually cared for Henry. She's seen that determined look more than once, usually in defense of Emma. Now he had it for Henry. Maybe she was wrong about him. Hook let out a little smile as he thought for a moment. "Although, I wasn't raised by Cora, so maybe you do understand him more than most."

"You're just hitting all the sore spots, aren't you? It's not going to work, Hook. I have no choice. I need to do this," Regina said. "It ends today." Regina stomped towards her car, leaving Hook behind her. Killian palmed the vial in his hand, silently thanking the stars she had put it in her left hand pocket.

* * *

Emma sat impatiently at Granny's, drumming her fingers on the table. Regina had finally called her to talk, but the location worried her. Regina wasn't one to openly humble herself, so she thought if she was going to admit she had been too hard on her, she probably would have picked her office or her home. On the other hand, maybe being out in public would be safer. Regina could kill her in the privacy of her office and no one would be the wiser for hours. No, Regina wouldn't be that sloppy. Maybe they were meeting here to go somewhere private, then she'd be killed.

It wasn't anything Emma already felt she deserved. She had her share of loss, of betrayal. It wasn't something she'd wish on anyone. Having Regina take a whack at her would almost make her feel better, if she didn't know that it was most likely be the most physically painful thing she ever felt.

Emma jumped as the bell to the main entrance of the diner rang. It was just the dwarves. Emma let out a sigh and pulled her cell phone back out to check the time. 2 o'clock exactly. Henry would still be in school, but not for too much longer. Was that another hint as to what Emma should expect? No missed calls, so she hadn't gotten delayed. Where could she…

"Ms. Swan." Emma jumped as Regina appeared from behind her. She must have taken the back entrance. Why didn't she anticipate that? Rookie mistake. Emma gave Regina a sheepish smile and gestured for her to sit down. "Did I scare you?"

"I…no, of course not," Emma tried to recover. "Thanks for finally agreeing to talk to me. You have no idea how bad I've felt about all this."

"Oh I'm sure you have no idea how bad I've felt this week," Regina said tightly as she folded her hands on the table. "I've lost my second chance at true love, thanks to you, while you've had the pleasure of being consoled by the one handed wonder." Emma sat back a little, tension clear all over her face. "Just like your mother. Nothing else matters except focusing on your own little happy end…"

"Actually, I told Hook I couldn't be with him," Emma interrupted, taking Regina by surprise. "I couldn't… I just… I have my reasons."

"And now you have my attention," Regina said. "Go on." Emma wrung her fingers together in nervousness, trying to regain control. "I know you don't open up to many people, Ms. Swan, but the least you could do is join me in my misery."

"That's just it," Emma said. "I know the misery you must be feeling, the betrayal of someone you were just starting to trust. I took away something you never thought you'd have. When Neal left me, I never knew why. All I knew was I had love in my life and then it was gone, and I was furious. I would have done anything- anything to take away the pain. But then I was thrown in jail, found out I was pregnant. I was responsible for caring for a life, so I put myself second, spent my days wallowing in misery so Henry could grow and have his best chance."

"What does that have to do with Hook?" Emma looked down and forced the lump back down in her throat.

"I wouldn't blame you, Regina, if you wanted to hurt me for what I've done, find a way to destroy my happiness like you did for my parents. But Killian, he's spent centuries of dealing with losing Milah. I know he loves me, and he's come so far to become the person he is now. I can't let him go back to the villain he was because I know if he loses me he couldn't take it either." Emma let a tear fall down her cheek. "It's better if I let him down gently rather than giving him a reason to go back to revenge. I love him to much to let him do that to himself. But in comparison to what I've done to you, whatever you have planned for me is probably what I deserve. I should have listened to Hook and never have brought Marion back. I would never knowingly destroy the happiness that you deserve, and I'm so sorry." Regina sat in silence for a while, not moving a muscle as Emma let a few more tears fall. Emma wiped them away roughly, fidgeting in her seat as she watched Regina contemplate her confession. "Can you please say something?"

"You're an idiot."

"Um…" Emma said, Regina's abrupt words throwing her off. "What?"

"You're going to let one stupid decision on your part prevent you from a chance at happiness? I know you're the daughter of those two idiots but I had you pegged a little smarter than that, Ms. Swan."

"Um… again, what?"

"You're so concerned about breaking my heart that you're punishing yourself," Regina said. "And Hook. Even Henry if you're implying what I think you're implying."

"I don't want to hurt him because of what's going on between me and you. I mean…"

"I'm the evil queen? Who knows what I'd do? Possibly turn you into a toad before lighting you on fire? Thanks for the vote of confidence, Ms. Swan. I was hoping that of all people in this town you'd have more faith in me than that," Regina scoffed. "No, I'm going to finish what I started in the Enchanted Forest last year."

"So…. you're not here to hurt me or...threaten me or…"

"No, I'm not," Regina said. "I came to ask you to take care of Henry for me."

"Of course I'll take care of him. Just tell me which night you want free and…"

"No, I mean _take care_ of him for me." All of a sudden, it clicked.

"Wait, last year you tried to…."

"Not exactly. I couldn't take the pain in my heart anymore, so I created a sleeping curse. Robin tried to talk me out of it, but when Zelena came into the picture, I said I had revenge to drive purpose into my life. But that's not who I am anymore. I had finally learned that what I did to your mother, what I did to everyone never made me happy, it made me feel empty." Regina said. "Everyone will be fine, including you. Robin has his wife, Roland has his mother, and Henry has you. I can't take any more heartbreak or inflict any more pain. I'm done, hence the sleeping spell."

"Henry would break it in less than an hour," Emma corrected.

"It's a concentrated dose. It can't be reversed, not even with true love's kiss," Regina said with a shrug. "I just couldn't bare to say goodbye to Henry, but I thought if you could bring him by my vault to...you know..."

"Please don't do this," Emma said. "I can't let you do this. Please. Henry..."

"I'm not going to do it anymore. Because you're right, and Hook's right," Regina said shaking her head, much to Emma's confusion. "I can't go back to who I was after I've come so far. Taking revenge is easy, doing the right thing for the sake of love no matter how much it hurts is the harder path, but the one I need to take. Because, like you, I'm giving Henry his best chance by not having to go through losing another parent. And I'm going to give my _friend_ her best chance by telling her to stop getting in her own way and go be in love with your pirate."

"But…"

"I'm not a villain anymore. There are people in my life that remind me of how much they believe in me," Regina said. "I can get through this."

"Because you have a resilient heart," Emma said with a smile. Regina let a small smile slip from her lips before schooling her features once more.

"Now I'm going to get out of here before we cause more of a scene than we already are," Regina said she slipped out of the booth, eyeing the rest of the crowd in the diner, who all ducked their heads down into their plates. "I'll pick up Henry after school."

"Are you going to be okay?"

"I hope so. See you later, Ms. Swan," Regina said as she exited the diner. She dipped her hand in her coat pocket, fishing around for the vial, but coming up empty handed.

"Well done, your majesty," a voice came from behind her. Regina rolled her eyes as she turned to find Hook holding up the vial, spinning it between his fingers.

"You didn't trust me not to use it?"

"No, I believe you've changed just like I have. But for Henry's sake, I didn't want to take any chances," he said as he handed the vial back to her.

"You knew I was going to use it on myself, not Emma."

"Like I said. I knew that look in your eye. Before I learned about the dagger, giving me hope in my revenge, I thought about doing just what you were about to do- giving up. Losing your love can make you feel completely hopeless. We're better than that now, we've finally learned there's always hope. Fighting for our happy ending is worth the temporary pain."

"Unfortunately. Taking the evil route is so much easier," Regina said with a smile.

"Aye. But the path of love is so much sweeter," Killian said, looking through the diner window towards Emma, who was now talking to Ruby.

"Ugh, the two of you are going to make me throw up with all your sappiness. Go. She's not going to hold back anymore now that she's not afraid I'll kill her and turn you back into a revenge-seeking pirate."

"I know," he said with a smile.

"Hook," a voice called from down the street. Regina turned to see Robin come running down the road, her heart squeezed inside her chest. She hadn't seen his face in days. How she'd missed seeing his face. "What's the trouble, mate? You sent Little John to tell me you needed urgent help that only I could provide."

"Aye," Hook said. "Regina just came into the possession of a deadly poison. She needs help disposing of it."

"Oh," Robin said in surprise. "I don't have magic to help with that, but I'd be glad to assist Regina with anything." Regina looked away to hide her blush, it didn't work. Robin couldn't help but smile.

"If you'll excuse me," Hook said as he went into the diner with hurried steps. Regina watched through the window as Hook and Emma froze for a moment as their eyes locked before running towards each other and getting swept up in a passionate kiss, the patrons in the diner cheering for them. Regina smiled and shook her head. As much as she felt like their open display of affection was overly dramatic and slightly nauseating, she couldn't help but feel happy for them. It felt like an eternity since she and Hook discussed how villains could never have a happy ending, yet there he was with Emma. Even after 300 years of anger and revenge, he had been saved by his princess, his savior. And although Regina was a bit envious, seeing them through the window gave her a little hope.

"I never thought Hook would take deadly poisons so lightly," Robin said as he watched them through the glass.

"He can be an idiot sometimes," Regina said. "But he's got a good heart. At least, now he does." She handed the vial over to Robin, not caring if she let her hand linger. "If you wouldn't mind doing the honors in disposing of the contents."

"What do I do with it?"

"Just dump it on those weeds over there," Regina said, pointing towards an untended potted plant on the corner of the street. Robin poured it into the dirt and the plant wilted instantly.

"My word," Robin said. "That would have been a nasty piece of work to whomever it was meant for."

"Yeah," Regina said. "But they're safe now."

"I don't know why I was the only one qualified for that task," Robin said, putting the stopper back in the vial before depositing it in a nearby trash can. "But I'm glad to be of service."

"Thank you," Regina said.

"Always," he said softly, locking eyes with hers. For a moment, Regina forgot all the complications between them, let her body sway towards his naturally. He never moved, just held her gaze. "We'll work something out, I promise."

"I thought you'd forgotten," Regina said, snapping out of her trance and backing away a step. "I thought you'd…" She froze when he took her hand, placing a gentle kiss on her knuckles.

"You are not easily forgotten, m'lady," Robin assured her softly. "I just need some time, to work all of this out. And I'm sorry for not speaking with you sooner. Everything just happened so fast that it's…"

"Overwhelming."

"Yes, truly," Robin said. "I'm so sorry, Regina. I never wanted to put you through something like this."

"Things like someone bring your dead wife back alive from the past doesn't happen, except in Storybrooke," Regina said with a roll of her eyes. "But, if you wouldn't mind, at least for now can we keep the communication open between us? Be honest with how you feel?"

"Of course," Robin said. "In fact, I have some time now that the- crisis- is over. Care to join me for some coffee?" Robin gestured towards the diner.

"I have some time before I pick up Henry. I'd like that," Regina said, closing her eyes as she felt him guide her through the door by putting his hand on the small of her back. She didn't know what the future would hold for them, or what he would decide, but in that moment she was sure it was worth waiting to find out.

**THE END**

_Reviews?_


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